When I'm Not Lookin'
by canibecandid
Summary: Who are you when I'm not around? I want to know. A four part series. Chapter 4: The Call
1. Bookends

I don't own Camp Rock or Blake Shelton's "Who are you when I'm not looking.

If you haven't read "Novelty", " Never Have I Ever", "Rose Garden", "Painting Wild Flowers", "Sharing", "Winning Roses", "In Sickness", "All in the Timing", "Seconds", "The Campers Catalog", "Her letter", or "Barefoot CinderElla", I would appreciate it if you did.

For Logan and Anna

* * *

><p><em>My oh my, you're so good-looking<em>  
><em>Hold yourself together like a pair of bookends<em>  
><em>But I've not tasted all your cooking<em>  
><em>Who are you when I'm not looking?<em>

* * *

><p>"I wonder what they're like," Jason hummed thoughtfully as he strummed his guitar. His brothers glanced at him for an explanation. "The girls, when we're not there."<br>Nate ran a hand through his hair as he tossed his phone away from him. "Sometimes, I'd like to think that Ella walks around with make-up on. Just so she doesn't have to get up thirty minutes earlier." He chuckled softly to himself while his older brothers just rolled their eyes.

"Whatever, I bet Mitchie is just as put together as always. She's like bookends. Everything is held together from start to finish."

"I think Caitlyn burns toast." Jason shrugged, writing down a few chords. "I can't prove it, but she always uses a lot bread when I'm gone and you'd think she'd gain weight if she was eating five pieces of bread a day. For real."

"That... is a lot of bread." Shane quirked an eyebrow, trying to beat Mitchie's high score on _his_ Temple Run game.

"Says the man who will eat two bagels for breakfast everyday. At least her's is only when Jason is gone." Nate laughed, while glancing at the clock again.

"Dude, Paris is six hours ahead of us. It's gonna be hard to catch her at a good time." Jason let out a sigh of understanding, a pout firmly implanted on his brow.

"No time is a good time during a tour." Shane mumbled, switching to Fruit Ninja, only to find that Mitchie had defeated his last scores on that game too.

"Really Mitchie, really? Gotta remind me that you're not here, don't ya?" He grumbled, tucking further into the couch and settling in for a long sit.

"We've got it bad, don't we?" Nate sighed, looking out the window.

"The flu? No, we're doing pretty good. The love sickness? Duh."


	2. Socks

A/N: Thank you to ersy, NverSayNevr, angellwings, and Standard-An3l for reviewing.  
>Here's the Natella portion of our program.<br>The new song is "When will he call me" from Phineas and Ferb.

If you haven't read "Novelty", " Never Have I Ever", "Rose Garden", "Painting Wild Flowers", "Sharing", "Winning Roses", "In Sickness", "All in the Timing", "Seconds", "The Campers Catalog", "Her letter", or "Barefoot CinderElla", I would appreciate it if you did.

For Logan

* * *

><p><em>Do you pour a little something on the rocks?<em>  
><em>Slide down the hallway in your socks?<em>  
><em>When you undress, do you leave a path?<em>  
><em>Then sink to your nose in a bubble bath.<em>

* * *

><p>Ella's feet groaned in pain as she strode down her hallway in her towering heels, sinking a good inch into the carpet. She whipped the card in and out of the locking mechanism and then tossed herself inside her room. Leaning against the door, she kicked off her shoes and let them hit the wooden floor of her bed room. Ella let out a long moan of content as her toes flexed and wiggled around without the confines of her Satan Traps and against the cold wooden floor.<p>

She hummed happily as she made her way further into the suite, plucking out her hair pins and setting them on her service tray. Then she launched on to the bed, feeling the cushions sink around her while she blindly attempted to stack her jewelry on her night stand. She propped her head up just long enough to open her mini fridge and get the Advokaat that was waiting for her. It was hard to find in the States, but if you were a top priority at Fashion Week, then nothing was to much. Well, almost nothing. She poured the mini bottle over a cup of ice and rested against the head board.

If her heart didn't already belong to Nate, this would be the life for her.

Ella laid there for a minute before sitting back up. Letting out a gleeful squeal, she slid in her dress and stockings to the bathroom. Now, there was something to be said about Parisian boutiques and fashion; but right now, Ella would rather talk about luxury bathes. She shimmied out of her stockings while she turned the hot water on to fill the deep copper bath. Swinging her legs over the basin and siting on the ledge, she took of her make-up and picked out a bubble soap.

Pink Sangria? Ella took a deep breath in smelling the soap. It smelled like her summer in the Bahamas with Nate. Done.

So, Ella stripped down and sunk into the scalding hot water. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them, glancing around the bathroom. She let out a low chuckle at the sight she saw. Clothes thrown every where, her bra hanging off of the plant, and outside the bathroom she knew that she'd left a lip gloss smear on the pillow, her shoes being rejected near the door, and she wasn't even sure that her jewelry and hair pins had actually made it on to her tables.

Most stylists would be itching to hang up the wrinkling clothes, but Ella just sunk further into her bath. She wasn't going to ware that outfit again while she was here, so she'd just clean it when she got back home. It wasn't going to kill her if she let them wrinkle or if her pillow had a stain, she'd take care of it later.

Right now, she was soaking in bubbles and liquor.

* * *

><p><strong>To: Nate Gray ()<strong>

**From: Ella Pador ()**

**1 attachment**

Hey! I have one of your button ups!

xo,  
>Ella<p>

PS- you can laugh, I did.

* * *

><p>Nate wasn't sure what he was watching, but apparently Ella was wearing one of his shirts... while reenacting the <em>Risky Business<em> hallway slide. He laughed until his stomach hurt and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. After she was done sliding around, dancing, and poorly lip syncing, Ella appeared in a close-up.

"_Hey! I heard that you'd been in a funk, so I thought I'd give you some entertainment and take the time to tell you to relax or something! I've probably had a little to much, and this might sound a little strange, but I love the way your shirt smells. I think I've told you that before. Well, I love you and I'm heading to bed. Skype me at some point, mister! Love you!"_

* * *

><p><em>"Hey, I was actually thinking about you this morning and I kept wondering when to call. So I thought I'd sing you a song I heard, I'm sure you know it too.<em>

_Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo._

When will she call me?  
>When will it ring?<br>Sometimes I think my sanity is hanging by a shoestring!  
>When will she call me?<br>How long is soon?  
>Should I check my watch, my calendar, or phases of the moon?<p>

And he doesn't have to call me, she can e-mail me or text me.  
>But all this hanging by the phone has really vexed me.<br>I checked my messages, you know how it affects me.  
>Cuz finding nothing in my inbox really wrecks me.<p>

When will she call me?  
>Ooh-ah-ah-ah.<br>When will she call me?  
>When will she call me?<br>Should I check my watch, my calendar or phases of the moon?

_So you should call me at some point. I love you." _


	3. Think of Me

A/N: Thank you to ersy, NverSayNevr, angellwings, and Standard-An3l for reviewing.  
>Here's the Jaitlyn portion of our program.<br>The new song is "Sea of Love" by Phil Phillip's or Cat Power.

If you haven't read "Novelty", " Never Have I Ever", "Rose Garden", "Painting Wild Flowers", "Sharing", "Winning Roses", "In Sickness", "All in the Timing", "Seconds", "The Campers Catalog", "Her letter", or "Barefoot CinderElla", I would appreciate it if you did.

For Anna

* * *

><p><em>Who are you when I'm not around?<br>When the door is locked and the shades are down?  
>Do you listen to your music quietly?<br>And when it feels just right, are you thinkin' of me?_

* * *

><p>Caitlyn despised romantic comedies for a reason; really, just any romantic movie. Because the main guy would swoop in just when the girl needed him too. However this was real life, and her main guy was on tour. She probably should have worked a longer day than just the measly 3 hours she put in on Mitchie's new album, but between the VibeTess drama and Tour angst, she was positive that Mitchie would understand her current state of insanity.

It really hadn't occurred to Caitlyn how deeply Jason was integrated into her daily life. For the first two days of the tour, Caitlyn didn't have coffee because she'd just become so accustomed to Jason bringing it to her. At her home, the bird feeder went untouched because she usually just didn't mess with it, she probably couldn't even tell you where the extra feed was. Even her producing station felt different without the curly haired man-child to distract her when she'd been working to long and was about to burn out.

But that's where she was now, in her recording booth, with the blinds shut and the doors firmly locked behind her. She was lonely and uninspired, choosing to indulge in the first. She probably could have called Mitchie and hung out with her, but she just didn't feel right. She felt like a person quitting cigarettes by going cold turkey. Caitlyn released a hallow laugh at imagining Jason's reaction to being compared to a drug, even one like cigarettes. Heaving a sigh, Caitlyn flipped through her CD's until she found the one she was looking for.

It was a collection of songs that Jason had compiled for their one year anniversary. He even covered a few of them, just for her, putting aside his own discomforts about singing. It was the best gift she'd ever received in all of her twenty-two years, but she really only listened to it when she and Jason were fighting. It always showed her how much he truly did love her, even if she didn't understand that sometimes. Now, the CD was bringing Jason to her even if he was a million miles away.

So, she slipped it in and pressed the shuffle key on her board. Tears slowly spilled out as the opening chords of Phil Philips "Sea of Love".

_Come with me my love_  
><em>To the sea<em>  
><em>The sea of love<em>  
><em>I want to tell you<em>  
><em>How much I love you<em>

His voice had become a little shaky and Caitlyn knew that was trying to decide how much was to much. Caitlyn scared easily, and Jason wanted to tell her that he loved her but was worried about having her run away.

_Do you remember_  
><em>When we met?<em>  
><em>That's the day I knew you were my pet<em>  
><em>I want to tell you<em>  
><em>How much I love you<em>

Caitlyn loved to tell people about how they met at camp and how it all started with a Blue Jay and Hawaiian fruit punch to the shirt. She'd been so upset about her shirt that she hadn't noticed how Jason stared at her like she was the moon and stars. Though now she would smile stupidly over the memory.

_Come with me my love_  
><em>To the sea<em>  
><em>The sea of love<em>  
><em>I want to tell you<em>  
><em>How much I love you<em>

It was hard not to miss him while he was gone, it would absolutely break Jason of he knew how much she hurt but she'd never take his music away from him. As selfish as Caitlyn could be, she'd never do that to Jason.  
>It was in that moment of self pity that Caitlyn had an idea...<p>

* * *

><p>"Shane, get your brother to check his facebook."<p>

"Why didn't you just call him yourself?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise, but you know how Jason is with the internet."

"Fine, I got this."

"Thank you!"

"Yeah, whatever."

* * *

><p>She'd made him a song and a picture video. Jason closed his eyes as Caitlyn's newly added voice part harmonized with his originals. It was "Sea of Love", the song he thought of when ever he thought of Caity.<p>

At the end of the song there was a little scuffing noise a little bit of sniffing.

"_Hey Jase, I was at the recording booth today and I just missed you like crazy. I put in our anniversary CD and it really was a pick-me up. You're the best and I love you."_

His smile widened and he backed the video up.

"_I love you."_ He cut it from the video and made it a loop.

"_I love you... I love you... I love you..."_

Even from far way, she was still giving him her love.


	4. The Call

A/N: Thank you to ersy, NverSayNevr, angellwings, and Standard-An3l for reviewing.

Here's the Smitchie portion of our program and the last installment of "Who are you".

If you haven't read "Novelty", " Never Have I Ever", "Rose Garden", "Painting Wild Flowers", "Sharing", "Winning Roses", "In Sickness", "All in the Timing", "Seconds", "The Campers Catalog", "Her letter", or "Barefoot CinderElla", I would appreciate it if you did.

Feel free to message me or review.

For Logan and Anna

* * *

><p><em>I wanna know<em>  
><em>I wanna know<em>  
><em>I wanna know<em>

_Do you break things when you get mad?_  
><em>Eat a box of chocolates 'cause you're feelin' bad?<em>  
><em>Do you paint your toes 'cause you bite your nails?<em>  
><em>Call up momma when all else fails?<em>

* * *

><p>It seemed like nothing was going right for Mitchie today. She had missed lunch because her meetings ran over her lunch break, Shane was on tour, Ella was in Paris for fashion week, Caitlyn was busy producing for someone else, and Tess wanted one of her songs. Well, Vibe wanted Mitchie to give Tess one of her songs. This wasn't the first time nor, she was positive, would it be the last that Vibe would try to negotiate something like this transaction. But, damnit, it was her song.<p>

Nothing had made her feel better today. She always chewed her nails down to little nubs when she was stressed, and they even bled a little today which only made her more upset. So she went and got her toes done; that's usually something she tried to do with the girls while Connect 3 was on tour, but some days just need a little TLC. However, that only dampened her mood when Shane called. Usually, she'd jump for joy when Shane called while he was on tour, but she knew that she wouldn't be very good company and didn't want to make him upset while he was on tour; it wasn't fair to take her emotions out on someone who wasn't even there.

She tried not to think any more about her song dilemma, even going as far to splurge on her favorite gourmet chocolates. What she wasn't expecting was that the taste was bitter on her tongue. Mitchie blanched at the taste and went to take a sip of her water, only to have it spill on to the front of her shirt.

"Mitchie? Mitchie Torres?" A blinding flash went off and she tried to hurry back to her car.

"Mitchie, what can you tell us about you co-writing with Tess?"

Co-write? With that, that, that... _bitch_? The thought stuck to her and prodded her in all of the most irritating ways on her way back to her house, only to sink her further into the black hole that was _Mitchie's Bitchy._

It was in this blind furry that she picked up a vase and threw it against the wall. It felt almost like slow-motion as flowers, water, glass, and those stupid little glass marbles hit the floor with a crash.

She let out a cry of frustration as she watched the water run onto the carpet. So she set out to do what any grown woman would do, clean her shit up. Everything was starting to calm down after she'd cleaned up the water, so she moved on to the glass... only to have a rather thin spike drive down into her nail bed. And just like any grown-ass woman, she stamped her feet, cursed, cried, and pried the stupid shard out of her finger. Then she did what any human would do...

* * *

><p>"Mom?" Mitchie sniffed into her cellphone.<p>

"Mitchie? Mija, what's wrong? Did you and Shane have another fight?" Connie rushed, feeling her empty nest syndrome now more than ever. But, Mitchie gave a watery laugh.

"N-no, I've just had a really bad day." She sighed, her mom probably had better things to do than listen to her daughter whine about how life wasn't fair.

"Why don't you tell me about it?" And just like that, Mitchie started rambled and cried about her worse than normal day.

"And then, Shane called. God, mom, I just miss him so much. But I ignored the call, I didn't want my bad mood to hurt him. It's not his fault my day was crap." Connie made a sympathetic noise as she cradled the phone closer to her.

"Oh honey, call him back."

"But" Mitchie checked her clock "he's on stage right now."

"Then leave a voicemail. I promise that it'll make you feel better Mitch." Mitchie smiled, rubbing her eyes and smudging the rest of her make-up.

"O-okay. I love you mom."

"I love you too, mija."

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>You have one new voice message... first voice message...<strong>"_

"_H-hey Shane, I'm sorry that I missed your call earlier. Well... I didn't miss it, but that's not the point. I had a really bad day today, and I didn't want to take that out on you. Especially when I'm not there to fix things or you can't talk to me because you've been called away to something else. Sometimes it's just so hard when a huge piece of you is somewhere else, ya know?"_

Shane smiled softly. Yeah, he did know.

"_But I thought I'd try to tell you about it anyway. I'm mostly done being weepy, I swear."_

_She'd cried? He frowned, leaning heavily onto the tour bus table._

"_It all started when Vibe wanted me to give one of my songs to Tess. It's silly, I know, but this song was- is- special. I- I wrote it for us to sing, but they want her to cover it, and I just got so upset. It stung. B__ut I chewed my nails off- __**again"**_

Voice-recording-Mitchie let out an irritated huff before getting back to her message. "_So, I went to get my feet done. You know I usually go with the girls, but I just thought I need a little pampering. That's when you called, by the way."_

He smiled again, leave it to Mitchie to make that note to him in a voicemail.

"_But I got some chocolates too, but they didn't taste right. Then I spilled my drink on me and got swarmed by the paparazzi."_ Recorded Mitchie sighed again.

"_But I brewed the entire way home... and then I broke some stuff, nothing important, I promise. But I called my mom, and she talked me down... and now I'm calling you... with the longest voicemail ever. I love you, and I hope your show was great. Love you,... until the airport."_

* * *

><p>"<strong>You have one new voice message."<strong>

"_Hey Mitch, I know you're probably asleep. But my show was great. Wow, it seems like your day did suck. I wish you would have answered my call, maybe then some of our stuff would be spared?"_ Shane's recording and Mitchie laughed at the same time.

"_Anyway, I love you and who you are when I can't be there the whole time. I hope today is better, I love you. Until the airport."_


End file.
